To the south, on a spur of the hills overlooking the maritime part
of the province of Basilicata and Capitanata, stands Minervino, and
thither we directed our course, over undulating green meadows which
descend to the plain, and we arrived about an hour before sunset at
the foot of the height on which the town is situated. Minervino enjoys
a noble prospect northward, over the level of Cannæ to the bay and
mountain of Gargano, at which distance the outspread breadth of plain
is so beautifully delicate in its infinity of clear lines, as to
resemble sea more than earth. The town is a large clean and thriving
place, with several streets flanked by loggie, and altogether different
in its appearance and in its population from Abruzzese or Calabrese
towns. The repose, or to speak more plainly, the stagnation of the
latter, contrasts very decidedly with these communities of Apulia--all
bustle and animation--where well-paved streets, good houses, and
strings of laden mules, proclaim an advance in commercial civilization.
[Illustration: CASTLE DEL MONTE, SICILY.]
We encountered in the street Don Vincenzino Todeschi, who on reading a
letter of introduction, given to us for him by Signor Manassei, seemed
to consider our dwelling with him as a matter of course, and shaking
hands with us heartily, begged us to go to his house and use it as our
own; he was busy then, but would join us at supper....
P---- and I are not a little perplexed as to what we shall do
to-morrow, for, owing to time running short, we have but one day left
ere we return towards Naples. Canosa (ancient Cannæ) and Castel del
Monte, are the two points, either of which we could be content to
reach, but as each demands a hard day’s work, we finally resolve to
divide them, P---- choosing Canosa, and I the old castle of Frederick
Barbarossa, of which I had heard so much as one of the wonders of
Apulia.
_September 23._--Before daylight each of us set off on his
separate journey on horseback,--P---- with the bulky Don Sebastiano to
Canosa, I to the Castel del Monte, with a guardiano of Don Vincenzino’s
family. Oh me! what a day of fatigue and tiresome labour! Almost
immediately on leaving Minervino we came to the dullest possible
country,--elevated stony plains--weariest of barren undulations
stretching in unbroken ugliness towards Altamura and Gravina. Much of
this hideous tract is ploughed earth, and here and there we encountered
a farm house with its fountain: no distant prospect ever relieves these
dismal shrubless Murgie (for so is this part of the province of Bari
called), and flights of “calendroni,” with a few skylarks above, and
scattered crocuses below, alone vary the sameness of the journey. At
length, after nearly five hours of slow riding, we came in sight of the
castle, which was the object of my journey; it is built at the edge of
these plains on one of the highest, but gradually rising eminences,
and looks over a prospect perfectly amazing as to its immense extent
and singular character. One vast pale pink map, stretching to
Monte Gargano, and the plains of Foggia, northward is at your feet;
southward, Terra di Bari, and Terra di Otranto, fade into the horizon;
and eastward, the boundary of this extensive level is always the blue
Adriatic, along which, or near its shore, you see, as in a chart, all
the maritime towns of Puglia in succession, from Barletta southward
towards Brindisi.
The barren stony hill from which you behold all this extraordinary
outspread of plain, has upon it one solitary and remarkable building,
the great hunting palace, called Castel del Monte, erected in the
Twelfth Century by the Emperor Barbarossa, or Frederick II. Its
attractions at first sight are those of position and singularity of
form, which is that of an octagon, with a tower on each of the eight
corners. But to an architect, the beautiful masonry and exquisite
detail of the edifice (although it was never completed, and has been
robbed of its fine carved-work for the purpose of ornamenting churches
on the plain), render it an object of the highest curiosity and
interest.
The interior of this ancient building is also extremely striking;
the inner courtyard and great Gothic Hall, invested with the sombre
mystery of partial decay, the eight rooms above, the numerous windows,
all would repay a long visit from any one to whom the details of such
architecture are desiderata.
Confining myself to making drawings of the general appearance of this
celebrated castle, I had hardly time to complete two careful sketches
of it, when the day was so far advanced that my guardiano recommended a
speedy return, and by the time I had overcome the five hours of stony
“murgie” I confess to having thought that any thing less interesting
than Castel del Monte would hardly have compensated for the day’s
labour. I reached Minervino at one hour of the night, and found P----
just arrived from his giro to Canosa.
While riding over the Murgie, slowly pacing over those stony hills,
my guide indulged me with a legend of the old castle, which is worth
recording, be it authentic or imaginary. The Emperor Frederick II.,
having resolved to build the magnificent residence on the site it now
occupies, employed one of the first architects of the day to erect it;
and during its progress despatched one of his courtiers to inspect the
work, and to bring him a report of its character and appearance. The
courtier set out; but on passing through Melfi, halted to rest at the
house of a friend, where he became enamoured of a beautiful damesel,
whose eyes caused him to forget Castel del Monte and his sovereign,
and induced him to linger in the Norman city until a messenger arrived
there charged by the Emperor to bring him immediately to the Court,
then at Naples. At that period it was by no means probable that
Barbarossa, engaged in different warlike schemes, would ever have
leisure to visit his new castle, and the courtier, fearful of delay,
resolved to hurry into the presence and risk a description of the
building which he had not seen, rather than confess his neglect of
duty. Accordingly he denounced the commencement of the Castel del Monte
as a total failure, both as to beauty and utility, and the architect
as an impostor; on hearing which the Emperor sent immediately to the
unfortunate builder, the messenger carrying an order for his disgrace,
and a requisition for his instant appearance in the capital. “Suffer me
to take leave of my wife and children,” said the despairing architect,
and shutting himself in one of the upper rooms, he forthwith destroyed
his whole family and himself, rather than fall into the hands of a
monarch notorious for his severity.
The tidings of this event was, however, brought to the Emperor’s ears,
and with characteristic impetuosity, he set off for Apulia directly,
taking with him the first courtier-messenger, doubtless sufficiently
ill at ease, from anticipations of the results about to follow his
duplicity. What was Barbarossa’s indignation at beholding one of
the most beautiful buildings doomed, through the falsehood of his
messenger, to remain incomplete, and polluted by the blood of his most
skilful subject, and that of his innocent family!
Foaming with rage, he dragged the offender by the hair of his head to
the top of the highest tower, and with his own hands threw him down as
a sacrifice to the memory of the architect and his family, so cruelly
and wantonly destroyed.
_September 24._--Having risen before sunrise, the energetic
and practical Don Vincenzino gave us coffee by the aid of a spirit
lamp, and we passed some hours in drawing the town of Minervino, the
sparkling lights and delicate grey tints of whose buildings blended
charmingly with the vast pale rosy plains of Apulia in the far
distance. At nine we returned to a substantial _déjeûner_, and at
half-past ten took leave of our thoroughly hospitable and good-natured
host.